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Google: Inside Search

Facebook Graph Search Is Creepy

Facebook Graph Search Is Humorless, Creepy And Doomed To Disappoint | TechCrunch: "Facebook’s newest feature Graph Search (so new it’s still in beta) can apparently tell you lots of stuff. Which of your friends are into surfing, hiking or drinking cups of tea. Or, delving into darker territory, which of your friends are sexist or racist — as this Gizmodo article points out. (Ewww.) But Graph Search also shines a massive illuminating spotlight on something else: why Snapchat has captured people’s imagination. And the answer is simple: because it does something Facebook does not. It lets data disappear, rather than stockpiling it until it starts to stink."

Facebook's Graph Search v Google+: two icebergs on a collision course | Technology | guardian.co.uk: "But that's not the same as the fluid way that preferences change among friends on Facebook, and the dynamic way that those social searches you make will change. So in that sense, Graph Search stands well apart from web search. But it's noticeable that both these giant companies are starting to move into the same place - social search. Google's coming at it from the "search" side, and Facebook from the "social" side. That means, as such searching becomes more useful, that the two companies are on a collision course. It won't happen immediately; these are more like two icebergs heading towards each other across a calm sea. But in time, the crunch will happen. Google is using its automatic signup to get more Google+ users, but that doesn't automatically make them sociable. Facebook has the benefit that (pretty much) everyone is there - but as we get more conscious about privacy settings, we're not necessarily going to make ourselves searchable."

What should Google do about Facebook Graph Search? | Internet & Media - CNET News: "It's important to note that several major categories of Google search are as yet unaffected by Facebook's entry into the space: video search, product search, flight search, and maps. But Graph Search is still in beta. Rasmussen and Stocky said they both have "years" of work ahead of them. So far Graph Search is available only in English, to a select few beta testers. It can't search status updates or notes. The recommendation engine for things like plumbers appears to rely heavily on "likes," and how many people have ever liked their plumber on Facebook? Still, it's easy to imagine where Graph Search might lead. And even in beta, there's one search Facebook does better than anyone else: photos. Facebook is the world's largest storehouse of pictures, and Graph Search makes them searchable in a way that is not only functional but fun. It handles vanity searches ("photos of me"), creeper searches ("photos of friends of my friends who are single"), and searches designed for pure exploration: photos of Paris, photos of puppies, photos from 1980. It's a rabbit hole every bit as fun to fall down as Wikipedia -- or, more to the point, Google Images."